True Love

A few years ago, while running in Ottawa, I noticed hundreds of locks of all kinds hanging off the side grill of bridges. It seemed to be an odd trend until I noticed initials engraved on most of the locks.

We all know the practice of writing initials inside a heart or carving initials in a tree. Each initial represents a person (perhaps one of which is unaware!) with a desire for a love relationship that “hopefully” will last forever. The lock is closed, and the key may be thrown into the river as a symbol that this bond of “true love” will never be broken.

How many of these dreams of “true love” are actually realized? How many gods of the nations have been manipulated in the quest for “true love”? Despite the broken dreams and false promises, many people still hope that one day they will meet the perfect match, fall in love, and stay together forever.

Has Hollywood defined “true love” for you? What false promises have you believed?

True love that lasts forever is available.

“Love never ends.” 1 Corinthians 13:8

At weddings, 1 Corinthians 13, known as the love chapter, is the most often-read passage. It is a love defined by God and exemplified by the God of love.

“God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” 1 John 4:16

The everlasting God has in him a love that lasts forever. This is the only true love available to us. No earthly bonds of love will last (Matthew 22:30) except the abiding love of God that endures forever.

Believer, whether you can write out your initials + another’s, you are bound in an unbroken covenant relationship with God through Christ. The more we abide in that love relationship with the lover of our souls, Jesus Christ, the more we can enjoy the loving relationships in life.

Christ’s love for his Bride cannot be broken and it has no bounds. His love reaches the world over. He knows each one by name and demonstrates his love having laid down his life to give life to each one.

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” 1 John 4:9

So when you come across initials written in a heart, carved in a tree, or engraved on a lock, remember that God has written your name in the palm of his hand (Isaiah 49:16). The nail-pierced hands of Jesus say it all.

True love.

(Video here)